The Lib Dem Plan for Reading
Our Six to Fix
Reading is a great town. But right now, it's being let down by a Labour Council that keeps raising your bills while delivering less in return.
Year after year, Council Tax goes up by the maximum allowed — 4.99%, every single time, without fail. And yet the streets are still littered, buses don't reach parts of town, antisocial behaviour goes unchallenged, and families still can't get the help they need from a Council that was supposed to be there for them.
It's not just Labour locally.
A Government that sets ambitious national standards while passing the bill to Councils isn't a partner; it's a problem. Reading Liberal Democrats will hold both Reading's Labour administration and the Labour Government to account — because warm words don't fix potholes, house families, or support children with SEND.
This isn't bad luck. It's the result of choices — choices Labour has made, year after year, about what matters and what doesn't.
We know it doesn't have to be this way.
Across the country, Liberal Democrat Councils are fixing roads, keeping libraries open for longer and for less money, turning around children's services, bringing buses back to communities that had been left behind, and standing up to water companies on behalf of their residents. They're doing it within budget, without the excuses, and without hammering residents with maximum Council Tax rises every year.
Reading deserves better — and that means a fair deal for every part of this town, not just the postcodes Labour chooses to prioritise.
Reading is forecast to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the UK, yet nearly half of that economic output benefits commuters rather than residents. Five Reading neighbourhoods remain among the 10% most deprived in England. Labour's economic strategy has been built around the town centre while outer communities are left behind. Growth that doesn't reach every neighbourhood isn't success — it's just inequality with better headlines.
1. Fix our roads, clean our streets, tackle antisocial behaviour and get Reading moving
The problem: Roads and pavements are neglected, cycle routes are patchy and sometimes ripped out again, antisocial e-bike and e-scooter use goes largely unpunished, and buses don't reach every part of town.
Our fix: Properly resourced enforcement with fines actually issued, not just warnings. A joined-up cycling network that gets built and kept, not dismantled a year later. Real pavement repairs where people are tripping, a dedicated street-fixes team to clear the backlog of grime, overgrown signs and blocked drains, and a fair, workable scheme to deal with pavement parking.
2. A fair deal on your finances
The problem: Council Tax keeps rising while support for residents struggling with the cost of living hasn't kept pace, and Reading's high street is losing shops that stay empty for years.
Our fix: Responsible management of Council finances, and full take-up of financial support residents are entitled to. A new grant scheme to help small businesses invest, plus using existing powers to bring empty shops back into use.
3. Supporting children, young people and families
The problem: Children in care are increasingly placed miles from home, the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils isn't closing, and a huge funding shortfall squeezes SEND support.
Our fix: Investment in early help and after-school provision, free school meals for every eligible child, more children cared for close to home, and a push to close the attainment gap — backed by pressing Government to properly fund SEND.
4. Protect libraries, leisure, green spaces and culture — and hold Thames Water to account
The problem: Libraries, leisure and culture are at risk of cuts. Thames Water keeps dumping sewage in our rivers, parks and verges cost more to maintain than they need to, tree cover targets lack real teeth, flood risk is rising, and play areas across the borough have been left to fall into disrepair — with too many inaccessible to disabled children.
Our fix: No cuts to libraries, leisure centres or culture. Real pressure on Thames Water, clear tree-canopy targets reported by ward, stronger drainage rules for new developments so flood risk isn't ignored, and a rolling programme to refurbish dilapidated play areas — with accessibility for disabled children built in as standard.
5. More affordable homes built to last
The problem: Developers are missing affordable housing targets by a wide margin, most existing homes are poorly insulated, empty homes sit unused, and rough sleeping is at an all-time high while support is being cut. Temporary accommodation costs have risen tenfold nationally in just over a decade — 484 Reading households are currently living in it.
Our fix: Hold developers to their obligations, push retrofit funding further to cut bills, get more empty homes back into use, and build a permanent homelessness facility — with any cuts to existing support matched by a funded replacement, backed by the LGA's call for fairer temporary accommodation funding.
6. A Council that works for you
The problem: Residents are often told about decisions after they're made, Council performance isn't reported clearly enough for people to judge for themselves, and companies the Council owns can make decisions affecting residents with no public accountability.
Our fix: Publish Council performance openly, involve residents in decisions before they're finalised, keep services accessible by phone and in person — not digital only — and ensure Reading Buses reports publicly on its service performance on an annual basis so that accountability doesn't end the moment a service is placed at arm's length from the Council.